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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Your face plus my calculator equals likely*

My attitude toward the internets is admittedly duplicitous. I have blogs in their multiplicities, yet I am inclined to roll my eyes at people who have accounts on the myriad social-networking sites like Friendster and Facebook. And, of course, I have accounts on these sites. I hate them, I think they are lame (Friendster especially) but I don't want to be left out.

One of the things I dislike about social-networking sites is the fact that they seem to taunt you with how lame you are. Facebook is particularly guilty of this. It breaks people into networks based on region, academic institution or employer**, which lands me in the Wales network and the Cardiff University network. Any time I log on, Facebook kindly reminds me of my status within my respective networks:

Thanks, Facebook. Thanks a lot. Effectively, what you're is saying to me is this: "Look at how many people don't give a toss about you. You big loser. If you were hit by a bus tomorrow, the police sure as hell wouldn't be using this social-networking site to identify you, because NO ONE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE."

Facebook is harsh, man. Anyway, that's why those of you with Facebook profiles who are also in my address book received friend requests from me today. I'm sorry. Facebook was antagonizing me, making fun of me, and I caved to the pressure. Please make me your friend, so that Facebook will stop picking on me. I promise not to take it as an actual sign of friendship and show up expecting you to let me stay at your place for a few days.

*This post's headline doesn't really have anything to do with the actual post. It's a quote from a conversation that I had with Chris a few week's ago. We decided that it would be a good phrase to put on a T-shirt.

I've thought of starting one if only to save the trouble of having to type in my name every time when I post here. Maybe I'm just feeling lazy after spending my entire evening watching the Twins lose in extra innings last night at the Cardinal Bar. Chris, someday you'll learn to appreciate baseball.

I hate those things too. I stuck only to Friendster for ages (and logged on about three times a year) but last week I got a request to join Facebook (not from you) and would have felt like a real jerk refusing.

Social networking just does not fit into my plan of becoming less social...

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Who's writing this?

Hola. I'm Chris Cope, author of the books The Way Forward and Cwrw am Ddim. I'm originally from Austin, Texas, but through a series of terrible and wonderful events called "life," I now reside in Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland -- specifically the bit that is Penarth, Wales. Occasionally I write things.